Sharp fall in rains bodes ill for Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: With Kerala recording a deficiency of nearly 40 per cent rainfall since the onset of south west monsoon, a grim scenario awaits the state`s economy, especially its power sector which relies heavily on hydel sources.

Though the state agencies are yet to assess the fallout of scanty rains on agricultural front, danger signals have already started emanating from the energy front.

According to Indian Meteorological Department here, the rainfall received by the state has been deficient by 39 per cent since June 1. The state received only 75 cm of rainfall till today against the normal 123 cm it should have received from June first week.
According to Electricity Minister Aryadan Muhammad, the storage level in reservoirs have come down to 16.43 per cent of their capacity by last week as against 40.61 per cent during the corresponding period last year.

This showed that the storage, kept up by abundant rainfall brought by the monsoon in the catchment areas, is 24.18 per less than last year.

As per the estimates of the Kerala State Electricity Board, the inflow into reservoirs since June first week has been equivalent to 733 million units, far short of 1702 million units last year.